Floggers, Foreplay, and Medigel
by Spyke1985
Summary: Mordin/F!shep ship. Headcanon, but same Universe. It's a totally different take on their relationship. Starts with his recruitment. Some conversations will be canon, others will be my own. Spyke Shepard is OC, Bioware owns all else. If you liked Professor Mordin Solus in the game, you will like this. Stays very true to his character. Enjoy. ;)
1. Chapter 1

**Floggers, Foreplay, and Medi-gel**

**A/N: I needed a break from charging forward headlong like a krogan on Denizens of Fate, so I've decided to start working on something completely different. Not sure if this will be a one-shot, or continue, we'll see, but my girlfriend has a Mordin Solus fetish(she has a thing for smart, nerdy guys, as do I), so I'm finally going to give into her demands and provide the oh-so-sought-after Mordin porn she's been begging me for, and share it with the rest of you while I'm at it. **

**Oh, and she came up with the title. **

**The story may, or may not have floggers in it. I just thought the title was rather clever.**

**So here's to you, Beth. **

**Love you hun.**

* * *

"Do you ever pause to take a breath?" She'd asked, seeming to be both annoyed and amused with him at the same time.

He blinked. Talking quickly and condensing information into only the most necessary and basic sentences to explain concepts efficiently was a common salarian trait, though he did admit he had whittled that salarian efficiency down to an art form. _ 'This woman must be a bit slow.'_ He thought to himself. "Sorry. I'll tryyy tooo slowww down." He blinked again at the woman and noticed her looking at _him_ as if he were slow, and decided it was the wrong tact to take. Humans could be so difficult. He shook his head, this was going to be painfully distracting, he just knew it. "No, no no no, can't do it, no time. Who are you?" He returned to his short, clipped manner of speaking, and looked at the human woman before him expectantly.

She smirked at him, obviously amused at his attempt to humor her. "I'm Commander Spyke Shepard, and I'm involved in a critical mission. I need you to come with me." She crossed her arms as she spoke, unconsciously putting up a barrier between the salarian Doctor and herself.

Surprise lit his features, curiosity and interest quickly following. "Mission? What mission?" He reconsidered, remembering his current personal mission. "No, no, no, too busy. Clinic understaffed. Plague spreading too fast. Who sent you?" His curiosity reared its head again. He would never learn to control it, as it had always been his greatest asset, as well as his greatest deficiency.

She grimaced at his question, pausing for a small moment before deciding to answer honestly. Honesty was likely the best policy with this salarian, he seemed to value straight data to subterfuge and half truths. "Ever heard of an organization called Cerberus?" She gritted her teeth together as she uttered the name, wishing her ties to them were not so necessary to the safety of the galaxy at that moment.

He frowned and hesitated, answering more slowly than usual as he observed her reactions to her own words. "Crossed paths on occasion. Thought they only worked with humans. Why request salarian aid?" He asked, suspicion lining his face.

"The collectors are kidnapping entire human populations. We're going to find out why and stop them." She seemed more confident in her statement this time, her features only displaying keen determination.

And that's where it all began. He was hooked. He asked for help to distribute his plague cure, and to try to find his assistant, but he had already made up his mind. If this woman and her human companions succeeded, he would join them. Good causes that affected the fate of the galaxy weren't particularly hard to find these days, but finding someone with the financial backing to actually do something with those causes was... Problematic, at best. Despite the funding coming from such a reviled source, it was a good cause, and would no doubt create many challenges for him to overcome. And he enjoyed nothing better than a challenge.

The mission he'd asked Shepard's help with had been a huge success. His assistant was now in charge of his old clinic, the cure had been successfully delivered to hundreds of grateful residents, and both the blue suns and the vorcha had been decimated throughout the ward. Mordin had to admit it, he was impressed. He had agreed to join Shepard, and was walking to the lab that she had assigned for him.

As he strode through the doors, his eyes went wide with excitement, trying to take in everything at once. This lab was pristine. Every possible piece of equipment, every byte of data he could ever need, was eagerly provided for him without questions or restrictions. He allowed himself a smile as he looked over his domain, spreading his arms out in glee as if to hug his new laboratory.

He quickly got a hold of himself and dove into work, a pile of datapads already stacked neatly on his desk, next to a new scientific research terminal. New, everything was brand new. He could smell the newness of it all, and took a deep breath as he picked up the first datapad from the top of the stack, reading it quickly, digesting the information, and setting it back down. He accessed his terminal and began work on a way to counteract the collector swarmers.

Before he'd realized it, he had worked for five hours straight, and stood up, stretching his back. He decided a hot cup of tea was in order, and headed out of his lab in search of the mess hall. He found it with little difficulty, and, finding it deserted, went through the cabinets until he found three containers of the same flavor of tea. He grimaced at the language on the containers - it was asari, and asari teas were something he was not fond of - but, he decided to try it anyway. It usually didn't hurt too badly to experiment. Usually.

He found a cup, and filled it with water, tasting it to make sure it was palatable. It was clean and crisp, and he nodded his approval at the cup. He heated it in the food warmer, working some more on his omni-tool - with which he had already established a link to his terminal in the lab - while he waited. The food warmer beeped suddenly, making Mordin jump; he hadn't expected it to be that efficient. He retrieved his cup, and placed the tea bag in it, grabbing a spoon from a drawer as he walked back to his lab, tea in hand.

His tea had just finished steeping, and he had removed the bag carefully with the spoon, when Shepard strolled into his lab, smiling and generally seeming to be in good spirits. "Ah, Shepard, glad you've come. Am close to finding effective countermeasure for collector swarms. Also, wanted to talk in general, get to know my Commanding officer. Good practice to know who I'm dealing with, has not lead me wrong yet." He let out a small smile at this, and finally looked up from his terminal at her.

She stood across his desk from him, smiling at his words, and nodded. "Alright Doctor, tell me about your countermeasure first."

He explained everything he had discovered so far, going into some of his research and describing a few of the failed attempts before launching into his newest theory. "Is difficult to test, however, without live sample. Miss Lawson will not release test sample to me without authorized signature. If you could fix that, work could continue unimpeded." He looked at her with his most hopeful smile, eager to continue his research.

She grinned at him and held her index finger up. "Give me a moment Doc, I'll go talk to Miranda right now." He nodded, and she hurried out of the lab.

He took the time alone to quietly take a sip of his tea, which, to his great surprise and pleasure, was quite bearable. He finished it quickly, returning to his work after placing the cup in his small sink.

Six minutes later, he heard his door swish open, and looked up to see a large specimen container being rolled in by none other than Shepard herself. The container housed a perfect example of a collector swarmer, and he rubbed his hands together with glee as he approached it. "Lovely specimen, Commander. Eager to begin testing. However, wanted to speak to you first." He thought for a moment on his first question, deciding it was best to stick to purely professional questions for the moment. The rest could come later, if possible.

Spyke held her hand up at him, urging him to wait. "Doc, just call me Spyke. Or Shepard if that's more comfortable for you. You're not on a military ship, you know." She smiled kindly at him, letting her hand fall back down to her side as she finished speaking.

He blinked at her, unsure of how to react. Had he missed a step in their relationship, or was she genuinely that open and friendly with everyone she met? He decided to accept her offer, and extend one of his own. "Very well...Spyke. Interesting name. May call me Mordin, if you wish."

She grinned and flushed at this, and waved her hand dismissively as she spoke. "It's not my given name, just a nickname I've had for as long as I can remember. And thank you, Mordin. I like to be on a first name basis with my crew as much as possible, tends to make things easier in the long run." She explained simply.

He nodded, accepting the explanation. He shifted his weight from one foot to another, and considered where this left them. She had moved straight from professional to personal with relative ease, and he had not been prepared for the personal line of questioning yet.

She interrupted his train of thought. "So I took the liberty of reading your file before I went to recruit you. Interesting past. STG and the genophage. Quite a resume you have, especially when you add curing the collector plague to it." He had fallen silent for more than thirty seconds, and he looked like he'd wanted a life line for the conversation. Perhaps she'd made a mistake in insisting on first names? Too late to take it back now. She shrugged mentally.

He blinked at her words in surprise. This woman was full of surprises. "You are well informed... Spyke." He still had trouble using her first name. Why? She was the one who'd insisted on it. "Was indeed with STG, and worked on genophage, along with team of other scientists. Did other work too, cured many diseases, healed many people. Killed many too. Do not regret past decisions, would do it all again if called to." He nodded confirmation of his sincerity at this, and stood straight, looking at her, seeming to dare her to contradict him.

She simply shrugged. "Fair enough. I don't have to agree with your past to have you be a part of my team's future." She looked at him evenly.

He felt deflated. He had been expecting to have to defend himself over his past, as he had had to do multiple times before, but her complete lack of combativeness disarmed him completely. He was unsure what to say now. For once in his life, the ever chatty Professor Mordin Solus was speechless.

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**A/N: Whew! Interesting start, eh?**

**Not sure how often I'll update this, but thorough reviews always help speed that process up, so don't leave me hangin', if you read it, review it! **

**I haven't seen this take on the Mordin/F!shep dynamic before, so hopefully this comes to you as a breath of fresh air, and not a giant wafting stench from a hog farm.** **Let me know if I should continue, and what you think so far, good or bad.**

**FEEDBACK IS KING!**

**~love~**


	2. Chapter 2: Never Doubt It

**Floggers, Foreplay, and Medi-gel**

**Chapter 2: Never Doubt It**

**A/N: Ok here comes another chappy for your faces!**

**Couldn't stay away from this story, my writing radar is sucking me back into it no matter what I tell it.**

**So here goes!**

* * *

He had made an extremely lame excuse of needing to get back to research to get... Spyke... To leave his lab without being too rude to the poor woman. He didn't know how to handle her, in truth. She was so utterly disarming and frank, and he wasn't used to being rendered speechless by any member of any species.

After a few days had passed, she'd requested his presence for a mission, and he'd gone with her and their newest recruit - apparently an old friend of hers - Garrus Vakarian without any fuss, but he hadn't managed to speak much then either. They came back hauling a large tank containing a genetically engineered krogan, supposedly a perfect specimen of his race.

Mordin had scanned him thoroughly, and found this claim to be quite accurate. "This krogan is the most genetically perfect example of his species I have ever encountered." He was practically gushing with enthusiasm, even dropping his short, clipped manner of speech for just a moment to marvel at Okeer's feat of genetic engineering.

"Hesitant to suggest waking him, though would make studying him more... Interesting." He said, quickly regaining his normal speech patterns and composure at the same time.

Spyke smirked at him when he said this, her eyes seeming to accept the veiled challenge he'd leveled at her. She stepped up to the tank, pressing a few buttons to free the krogan of his tube, and stepped back to watch, her hand on the grip of her gun, just in case. The krogan fell out of the tank as it finally opened, hacking and coughing fluids up from his lungs.

He took in his surroundings, and noticed someone standing in front of him.

He charged, pinning Spyke to a crate behind her, an angry glare leveled at her as he growled his first words at her. "Human. Female. Before you die, I need a name."

She sneered at him, defiant despite the fact that this massive krogan could easily crush her against the crate and be done with her without a second thought. "I'm Commander Spyke Shepard, and I don't take threats lightly. I suggest you relax."

The krogan shook his big head once. "Not your name. Mine. I am trained. I know things. But the tank... Okeer couldn't implant connection. His words are hollow. Warlord, legacy, grunt... grunt. 'Grunt' was among the last. It has no meaning. It'll do. I am Grunt. If you are worthy of your command, prove your strength and try to destroy me."

She snorted. "You wouldn't prefer Okeer, or Legacy? Why Grunt?" She looked at him, no trace of fear in her face, defiance still holding strong.

"It's short. Matches the training in my blood. The others are big things I don't feel. Maybe they fit your mouth better." He sneered at her, his blazingly blue eyes piercing through to the heart of her as he watched her for any hint of weakness. "I feel nothing for Okeer's clan or his enemies. I will do what I was bred to do - fight and determine the strongest - but his imprint has failed. Without a reason that's mine, one fight is as good as any other. Might as well start with you."

She spoke without missing a beat. "I have a good ship and a strong crew - strong clan. You'd make it stronger." She allowed him a small smile as she played to his krogan pride. "If you're weak or choose weak enemies, I'll have to kill you." He shoved against her a bit to emphasize his point.

She sneered at him. "Our enemies are worthy, no doubt about that." "Hmmm..."

He huffed. "That's... Acceptable. I will fight for you." The slightest hint of a smile edged his face.

She grinned broadly and spoke as she looked down at the gun in her hand, which had been aimed at his gut during the entire encounter. "I'm glad you saw reason."

He looked down at her words. "Huh?" He saw the gun and let her go, taking a step back as he laughed once. "Ha! Offer one hand, arm the other. Wise, Shepard. If I find a clan... If I find what I.. I want, I will be honored to eventually pit them against you." He nodded at her and moved to stand by the tank, mollified for the moment, and obviously done talking.

Spyke holstered her pistol, and looked over in time to see Mordin doing the same. As he looked at her, she jerked her head towards the door, indicating that he should follow her. He fell in step behind her as she left the room, and they trekked up to his lab in silence.

As they reached their respective places in the lab, she finally spoke. "Didn't think I'd pull the trigger?" She smirked at him, a glint in her eye that he couldn't identify.

His face scrunched up in thought. "Was not worried that you would not shoot him, Spyke. Was worried it would not kill him. Grunt is particularly large krogan, would need extra firepower to subdue. But no matter, was not needed."

She smiled at him, wondering at his willingness to assist her with such an act after such a short time of knowing her. "Why did you stick around? I wasn't expecting an audience for that particular performance. Or was it simple scientific curiosity?" She smirked as she finished, her amusement with this odd salarian continuing to grow.

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, and letting it out before he spoke. "Part curiosity, part wishing to fulfill role you have placed me in."

She raised her eyebrow in confusion. "And what role is that, Mordin? I hadn't realized I'd given you any specific role."

His eyes shifted from side to side as he answered, his confidence wavering. "Role of both team mate and... Friend. First name familiarity found only amongst friends, relatives, mates in salarian culture. Was not expecting it so soon, but have adapted to change in status. Will redouble efforts to prove myself, if necessary. Would like to be a good... Friend." He managed a small, shy smile at her as he relayed all of this to her.

She couldn't help but smile back at him, and laughed lightly as she spoke. "Well Mordin, you've surprised me once again. I didn't expect you to accept my friendship so easily, but if you have, I welcome it. I'm glad I recruited you." Her smile broadened into a grin, flashing her white teeth at him.

He blushed, his cheeks turning a light shade of green. His eyes went wide as he realized his reaction, and he mulled over the occurrence in his mind. _'Blushing? Why? Not embarrassed. Nervous? Yes. Normal reaction for sexual attraction. Am attracted to... Spyke? No! Yes... No! Impossible! Never been interested in other species. Why now? Can't be!'_ He looked up at Spyke and immediately blushed an even deeper green, and looked at his terminal, trying to escape eye contact. He cleared his throat and spoke, realizing it was his turn to break the silence. "Countermeasure to seeker swarms almost ready, should be ready for field test by next mission." He was very glad he'd looked at his terminal; it had let him steer the subject of conversation off of... Uncomfortable subjects.

It was her turn finally to blink at him, wondering why he had turned an odd shade of green, and why he'd suddenly switched tracks like that. "Um... Ok. Sounds good. I'll be sure to let you know when we need it." She paused for a moment before deciding to go ahead and ask... They were friends, after all. Right? "Are you alright? You turned a little... Erm... Green a minute ago." She looked at him with concern.

He blushed dark green this time, and lifted his hand to his face to try to cover it up, to no avail. He shook his head and blinked several times, trying to calm himself down. He had to come up with an excuse, even if it was a lie. He hated lying, but it was less confusing than the truth at this moment. "Not feeling well. Need to lie down. Pardon me." He started towards his cot in the back of the lab, but was stopped by the light touch of Spyke's hand on his shoulder.

"Maybe you should go see Dr. Chakwas? You don't look so good." He had started to shake his head to object, and she interrupted him as she watched his face turn an even deeper green. "Yep, come on, let's let the Doc do her job." She had moved her hand down his arm, gently supporting him and tugging him towards the door.

His eyes went wide with exacerbation, and he stopped, resisting her pull and finally standing straight, deciding in that instant to just tell her the truth, before he was carted off to see a Doctor that would see right through his pretenses. "Spyke! Will not go, am not really ill!" He brought his palm to his forehead in embarrassment.

She looked him with a mixture of total confusion and frustration. "Then what's going on, Mordin?! You're confusing the shit out of me. What's the deal here?" She removed her hand from his arm, and stood there facing him, arms folded in front of her as she looked at him expectantly.

He let out a puff of air and gave her an anguished look, wringing his delicate hands together as he finally blurted out the stream of words he could no longer hold back. "Am blushing, Spyke!" He blushed again as he said her name, cursing his body for betraying him so cruelly. "Am... Attracted to you. Can't explain it, never been attracted to other species before, don't understand this; confused, conflicted, angry at self, embarrassed at reactions, at... At wit's end!" He finished his confession with a pained shout, blushing furiously and turning to pace in front of his lab desk, worry and panic the main expressions present on his face.

She stood there, dumbstruck. She had listened to him, absorbed his words, and simply stood there in shock, her eyes still wide with surprise. When she could finally speak, the first words out of her mouth were uttered in a raspy whisper. "You're... Attracted... To me? Since when? I thought salarians had low sex drives? At least that was what the medical file on you that was attached to your dossier said."

He paused his pacing to look at her, seeming to consider something as he took a breath and opened his mouth to answer her. "Is true, salarians have low sex drive." He nodded, pausing again, moving to her, looking her in the eyes, and smiling shyly.

He responded to her first question at an uncharacteristically slow and unclipped speed, trying to convey to her the fullest extent of his feelings. "And I've been attracted to you ever since you rendered me speechless at the end of our first conversation in this lab. No-one has ever done that to me before. It flicked a switch on in my head, and I can't turn it off, nor do I want to. I realize now that I care about you greatly, and want nothing more than to see you... Happy."

She was mere feet from him, and his final confession was rocking her to her core. In all her past relationships, flings, and intense romances, nobody had ever said or done anything that affected her as much as what this brilliant, eccentric, and decidedly handsome scientist had just said to her.

She realized that all the air had left her lungs as he'd spoken, and she took a raspy breath, the air hitching in her throat. She swallowed, hoping the lump in her throat would go away.

She lifted a hand towards him, stepping forward as she did to close the gap between them, cupping his cheek in her hand as she reached him.

He smiled and closed his eyes, leaning into the touch as he placed his hand gingerly over hers, caressing it gently.

She heard something similar to a mid-range purr coming from his chest, and smiled. It was a comforting sound, sweet and peaceful. He opened his eyes and looked at her with pure joy shining from his face.

She finally found her voice at this sight. "That was the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me. Thank you, Mordin." She smiled sweetly at him, and he returned the gesture, turning his face to kiss her palm, before facing her again. "Meant every word, Spyke. Never doubt it."

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**A/N: And there we have it! **

**Mordin finally confesses what we've all known all along: He's nuts about Shepard!**

**Let me know if you'd like me to continue. **

**I know there were some spots in there where he didn't talk like Mordin, and that might bother some people, but if you didn't get the reason for it, or the fact that it IS possible for him to speak in complete sentences, he just chooses NOT to generally to save time, then I don't know what to tell you.**

**FEEDBACK IS KING!**

**~love~**


	3. Chapter 3: The Waiting Game

**Chapter 3: The Waiting Game  
**

**A/N: Hey guys, I know it's been a while, but I'm dealing with moving and all kinds of other delicious crap, so updates may come slowly for a while until things settle down and get set up properly.**

**But hey, I'm moving back to my old stomping grounds, so at least I'll know the area!**

**Sorry about ignoring this story, my self-insert has been sucking most of my creative juices, but here is a tasty update for you, so enjoy!**

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He woke up with a start as he always did, his short sleep cycle over as quickly as it'd begun, and he took in his surroundings. His old STG training was ingrained in him as much as his childhood memories, but as soon as he found no intruders in his lab, he relaxed, stretching as he stood up.

He went to his terminal, eager to start back to his research, and checked his messages. There was one from Dr. Chakwas, informing him of a new strain of flu only affecting asari that a colleague of hers had told her about. Another from Garrus, asking about a salve for a rash he was developing, and finally, one from Spyke.

He paused before opening this last message; it had been a few days since their last encounter, as she'd been doing mission after mission, mostly having to do with recruiting one person or another, and hadn't had time to stop by.

He tapped his thin finger on the message, and smiled as he read the contents.

Dear Mordin,

I know I haven't had time to give you lately, and I'm sorry for that, but we're heading to the Citadel in a few days, and we'll be taking some shore leave there.

I'd like to do something with you when we get there, but I'm not sure what you like. If you could let me know of some date activities you would enjoy, that would be great!

Let me know, and I'll plan accordingly.

Hope you have a... Productive day. :)

Love,

Spyke Shepard

His eyes went wide when he read the part about date activities, his mind kicking into high gear as he considered the possibilities. He enjoyed music and theater, but wasn't sure that a seasoned soldier like Spyke would be able to sit through hours of song and dance without tossing a grenade into the middle of the stage.

So he stabbed a finger at the reply button, and began clicking away rapidly at the holographic keyboard.

Dear Spyke,

I gladly accept your invitation for a date on the citadel, however I would like to know your preferences for activities, as my ideas may be a bit too tame for your tastes.

My tastes tend to run along fairly refined lines, though I can enjoy mundane activities such as walking a park from time to time as well.

Let us try to reach a compromise, so we may both have a good time.

Yours truly,

Mordin Solus

He hit the send button with a satisfied nod, and turned his attention to the next project on the docket. He worked for five minutes before his terminal beeped, indicating he'd received a new message. It was from Spyke, so he opened it quickly and read the contents.

I'm coming down, be there in a minute.

Spyke

He blinked, smoothing his uniform and neatly stacking the datapads that had been strewn about his desk over the past few days.

His heart skipped a beat when she walked through the door. He'd never seen her in anything but armor or a Cerberus uniform, and she was wearing a loose-fitting cream sweater that hugged her upper arms, exposing her shoulders and draping down to hug her waist elegantly, with black slacks that flowed down her legs softly.

He blinked as he swallowed the lump in his throat as she came to a stop in front of his desk, and a light floral scent flurried through the air, coming to rest gently all around him. He breathed in the delightful scent, his eyes fluttering closed for a moment as she began to speak.

"What makes you think I wouldn't enjoy the more refined things life has to offer?" She was affecting an air of being rather put out, but he noted with amusement the slight tug of a smile on the corners of her mouth. "Tell me your ideas, I may like them." she continued, raising an eyebrow in challenge at him.

He was having trouble not staring at her bare shoulders, but he shook his head and looked her in the eye as he spoke. "I enjoy many things: theater, music, song and dance, opera, exploring a park with good company, scientific seminars, museums-" he was grasping at straws, and she knew it as she held her hand up to interrupt his laundry list of activities.

"Mordin," she walked around the counter and cupped his face in her hands as he turned to her, "I can handle anything you throw at me." she smiled as she continued, "If you want to go to the theater, or the park, or wherever, it doesn't matter, as long as I'm with you." she leaned in and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek, dropping her hands to her sides as she pulled away.

He blushed dark green and opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again, blinking furiously. She loved flustering him so, and delighted in doing it whenever she could.

He shook his head quickly, closing his eyes and taking a breath before he spoke. "Spyke Shepard, I would like to take you on a date. Perhaps dinner and a walk... Wherever you choose?" he finally managed, nodding to himself slightly, a smile pulling at his lips in satisfaction.

She smirked at him and fluttered her eyes at him flirtatiously. "I would be honored to accompany you, Dr. Solus. Thank you so much for your generous invitation." her smirk grew into a grin as she leaned in quickly, capturing his lips with hers; catching him completely off guard as he blushed and made a small sound of surprise, followed by a purr as he reciprocated the kiss, parting his lips at the insistence of her tongue, running his nimble fingers through her hair with one hand, the other finding its way under the bottom of her sweater to trail patterns along her lower back.

She hadn't expected such a fervent reply, and was quickly running out of air as her heart jump started at the feeling of his skilled hands on her skin. She broke the kiss reluctantly with a gasp, nuzzling into his neck and letting her hot breaths fan his skin as she trailed her lips from his jawline down to the collar of his uniform and back up, kissing and suckling lightly on her way up, and nipping lightly at his jaw, which garnered a shuddering sigh from him.

She pulled back enough to see his face, and what she saw made a chill run up her spine. There was something in his eyes she'd never seen from him before; ravenous hunger mixed with passion and agony, and it made a fire light in her stomach like never before.

He leaned into her, pushing her gently but urgently backwards as he kissed her deeply, her back hitting the wall as his hands explored her body over, around and under her loose clothing, reaching up to nimbly detach his metal communication collar and lay it on the desk corner.

He returned the wayward hand to her buttocks, squeezing gently before reaching down further to sweep her knee out from under her, hitching it up and letting her wrap her leg around his hip as he moved his hands upwards to her face and neck, gently tracing her jawline, a feather touch along the edges of her ears, then running his fingers through her hair. He suddenly grasped her hair in his fist at the base of her skull, forcing the kiss to evolve into one of desperation and need as they gasped and moaned at the electric fire that channeled its way between them.

Her mind and heart were racing as he assaulted her barriers, and one by one, they were broken down by his passions. She'd never had this amount of energy and need course through her before; it was as if something had awakened in her that was waiting for this moment, something that was dormant and quiet in its need to be exposed, but was now ripping and tearing its way to the surface of her control.

She rolled her hips against him, her leg and arms gripping him to her greedily, and his hips responded with a thrust as he groaned and broke the kiss, leaning his forehead against hers, his eyes closing as he seemed to be trying to control his breathing, slowing it down purposefully.

"Spyke," he gasped between heavy breaths, "we shouldn't continue this here, now. Much as I want to, should... Should have first date, at least." he let out a small laugh and smiled at her as he opened his eyes, almost losing what little control he'd gained as he saw the fire burning in her eyes. He gasped for breath at the sight, leaning in and planting small kisses all over her face and neck, nuzzling into the crook of her neck and shoulder and holding her to him tightly as their hearts slowly calmed from their rapid paces.

As he felt the heat in her body diminish, he backed up to arms length, looking at her carefully. "Please do not take this as rejection, Spyke. Is not rejection at all. Is simply... Waiting, for both our sakes. Do not want to rush this, want to make things more memorable than this." he gestured to their current location. "Want our first time to be special, not driven by need or lust." he stroked her face softly and smiled warmly at her, trying to assure her of his sincerity.

She let out a breath she'd apparently been holding, and nodded, kissing his palm and leaning her cheek into it. "Ok Mordin, but don't keep me waiting too long. That was... More than difficult to just calm down from. You're in for it when you're ready. You've been warned." she said, a smile quirking the edge of her mouth and a twinkle in her eyes.

He grinned at her. "Will also warn you; salarians may have low sex drive, but don't hold back once aroused properly. Was not easy for me to stop this, either. Felt we deserved more than quick encounter in the lab. Would not do us justice, needs more time, preparation, thought. Better setting." He frowned at his last statement, looking around at the lab surrounding them, completely bare of any furniture save a small cot in the corner.

She laughed, cupping his face in her hands and kissing him on his lips, his forehead, his horn, and again on his lips, pulling back and smiling at him. "Alright, make the plans and pick me up at my quarters in three days, at 1800 hours sharp. I'll be waiting, Professor." she winked at him, planting one last kiss on his cheek before walking out of the lab, swaying her hips to tease him as she left.

* * *

A/N: OMG! So, crazy stuff, making you guys wait for the citrusy goodness just cause I can torture you like that.

Hey, keeps you coming back for more, right? Right? :P

Will update soon, so much stuff going on I can't say when, but will say soon for now.

FEEDBACK IS KING!

~love~


	4. Chapter 4: Realizations

**Floggers, Foreplay, and Medi-gel**

**Chapter 4: Realizations  
**

**A/N: Hey guys, decided to update sooner rather than later, the Mordin fluff keeps pulling me back in!**

**I'm absolutely loving writing this story, and I hope you are enjoying it as much as I am.**

**Thank you so much for your reviews, they are fuel for my starved writer brain! Love!**

* * *

Three days. It seemed an eternity to wait for a date, but they both knew the anticipation wasn't for the date itself, but what would come after. They knew they wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.

Mordin was distracted beyond reason, making amateur mistakes in his calculations, spilling samples, and generally making his research far more hazardous than it ever had been.

Spyke was unable to concentrate on the daily reports, leaving quite a few undone in favor of browsing some of Joker's 'Fornax' magazines to try to ease tension in a very... Personal fashion.

She'd also been spending an inordinate amount of time in engineering and bothering Joker, trying to find ways to make the ship go faster. As good as she was with tech, she simply couldn't help any more than her already adept engineers could, and she finally decided in the early morning of the third day to give in and visit Mordin. _'Just to check in on him.'_ she thought to herself.

It was only 0400 hours when she walked into the tech lab to the sound of glass breaking, and the sight of an obviously flustered and exhausted Mordin bending down to use the lab vacuum to clean the mess up. She waited at the door until he was finished, watching him carefully. He was uncharacteristically disheveled, he had obviously not bothered to keep his uniform in pristine condition, and she noticed a stain on it that would never have gone unnoticed by him before. She raised her eyebrow at him as he finally looked up at her, panic rising in his face, and quickly smoothing his uniform as best he could before he spoke.

"Spyke! I... I am sorry, did not expect to see you yet." He flushed a bright green as he looked between her and his desk, which was covered in datapads and haphazard spills that he hadn't bothered to clean up due to the frequency of their occurrence. He raised his hands and let them fall in a helpless shrug at the mess.

She walked to him, a small smile on her face, and cupped his face in her hands, forcing him to look at her. He laced his thin fingers around her wrists, taking solace in the touch as she spoke. "Mordin, how long has it been since you slept? You look like you haven't stopped making messes since I walked out of here last." she said, her smile broadening as she turned her eyes towards the spills on and around his desk for emphasis.

He looked past her for a moment, seeming lost in thought. When he didn't have an answer for her, she nodded. "Alright you, time for bed. I will not have you exhausted and passing out on me when we go on our date. I know you don't sleep long, but I want you to at least get a couple of hours before we dock." She started leading him towards his cot, then as she looked at it, she had another thought. "You know what? Come with me." She released him and waved a hand forward, beckoning him to follow her.

He followed her quietly, fidgeting with his hands as they rounded towards the elevator, and she hit the button for her cabin. As he saw her selection he focused on her and apprehension clouded his features. "Spyke, why are we going to your quart-" she quickly held her hand over his mouth as his eyes widened in surprise, and she replied. "Mordin, you need sleep, and someone needs to clean up that lab before all those compounds mix and explode in your face. You're going to sleep in a real bed, and I'm going to clean your lab for you. I can't have you working in a lab that's hazardous to your health."

She smiled as he tried to object from behind her hand, but she didn't remove it, and kept it there as the lift doors swished open, pushing him out into her cabin, towards her bed, turning him around and pushing against his waist, making him sit down on the edge of the bed.

She gave him a stern look, eyebrow raised, and slowly removed her hand from his mouth. He continued to look up at her and swallowed, keeping his mouth shut. She knelt down, removing his boots and tossing them to the side, then stood and removed his communication collar, walking over to her desk to retrieve the chair there and placing the collar in the seat of the chair. She turned back to him and began removing his coat and the rest of his clothing, laying each piece on the back of the chair as she went, marveling at how many layers she had to remove before he sat before her, naked.

She smiled at him kindly as he looked at her, utterly exhausted and helpless. She moved to the side of the bed, pulling down the covers and sheets, and returning to him, taking his hand and leading him to the prepared part of the bed, letting him slide under the covers and sink into the pillows before she pulled the covers up and leaned down, kissing him softly on his broken horn. "Sleep, Professor. I'll have your clothes and lab cleaned by the time you wake. Sweet dreams."

He was asleep by the time she'd finished speaking.

* * *

She'd tossed his clothes down the laundry chute and continued to her task, dragging some cleaning items from the supplies room in her bathroom, and heading down to his lab, cleaning and polishing everything in sight, stacking datapads and organizing samples, even taking a crack at correcting the math on the project that was still open on his terminal. She gave up on that quickly once she realized it was far beyond her expertise, and picked up his uniform on her way back up to her cabin. It had been three hours, and she figured he would be up by now, knowing as she did that salarians only need around an hour or so of sleep per day.

When she entered her room, his uniform folded neatly over her arm, she found him still asleep. She shook her head and smiled, walking to the chair and draping the clean uniform over the back of the chair she'd pulled out from her desk earlier, then past it to the side of her bed where he slept peacefully, muttering to himself in his sleep. She crouched beside him and leaned in to try to catch snippets of what he said, and stifled a giggle as she listened. In between scientific terms and something about varren jumping over an electrified fence, he whispered her name and began purring.

She smiled and reached forward, her hand lightly tracing down from the top of his broken horn, down the side of his face to the tip of his chin. His purr grew louder as she repeated the caress, and his arms moved to hug his chest, a look of complete joy and comfort on his face. She did it once more before standing and grinning at him lovingly. She was heading to her bathroom to put the cleaning supplies back when she stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide and her hand flying to her open mouth in shock. _'Did I just... Wait... I'm... I can't be.' _she looked back at his sleeping form, and her face softened as she smiled automatically at the sight. _'Oh my Gods... I'm in love with him.'_

Spyke Shepard didn't fall in love. At best, she fell in lust. Love was a luxury that people on whose shoulders the fate of the galaxy didn't rest, on whose shoulders the safety of such exceptional people from all walks of life as her team mates didn't rest, could afford. Love? Love was the common man's luck, not hers.

But as she stood there, watching him sleep, she couldn't deny what she was feeling. It had come swiftly, like a virus, infecting her heart and soul with a voracity unrivaled by any other emotion she'd ever experienced. It crippled her, bringing her to her knees with the weight of it. She was thankful he was asleep, so her heart wouldn't be exposed so cruelly to him.

She wasn't sure if he felt the same way for her, if such a thing was even possible; for two people to feel such a crushing emotion at once. Surely the galaxy couldn't contain two hearts burning so brightly, like a star on the verge of dying. She bowed her head as tears flowed freely down her cheeks, her body acknowledging the feelings flowing through her even as her mind tried to deny them, to no avail.

Suddenly, the crystal ball of her private war was shattered with an unexpected sound.

"Spyke?"

Mordin was sitting up in her bed, looking at her with great concern in his eyes, and she looked up on instinct, quickly regretting the move as he saw the tracks her tears had made on her face. She ducked her head down as she noticed the recognition in his eyes, wiping her face with her hands hurriedly and standing in one swift motion. It wasn't fast enough, he was in front of her, hands cupping her face and worry creasing his features.

"Spyke, what is wrong? Are you ill?" she tried to shake her head in the negative, but his hands held her fast. "Tell me, why are you crying? Why were you on the floor? What happened?" his rapid-fire questions assaulted her mind like fire, burning through her senses like acid. She reached forward, her hands hooking behind his neck, and pulling him into her, kissing him fervently before stepping back and walking around him to sit on her bed.

She had been discovered, and there was no escaping his inquiring gaze as he knelt in front of her, hands on her knees, looking up at her with pleading eyes. "Please Spyke, tell me what's wrong. Do you want me to call Dr. Chakwas? What can I do to help?" he was begging her, and she couldn't hold it back any more.

"Mordin! Stop! Please." she held his face in her hands as another tear escaped, unbidden and unattended until he reached up and stroked it from her cheek. "I... I don't know how to say this. I've never had this happen before. I..." she paused, her mind waging a war with her mouth, willing it not to say the words that could spell the end of them. She closed her eyes quickly and took a ragged breath, nodding as she steeled herself for her confession.

"I'm in love with you."

She finally managed to say it. She opened her eyes to the look of shock on his face, and watched him with dread creeping through her soul for a moment, until his expression slowly softened into a smile.

"I know." he chuckled as he saw the surprise come over her.

"How do you know?" she couldn't help the flood of mixed confusion and relief that washed over her as she looked at him, searching his eyes for the answer.

"Because you are not the only one who feels that way. Because I love you, Spyke. And love recognizes love." He smiled at her and stroked her face, leaning up to kiss her lips once, twice, three times, lingering on the fourth for the sweetest, most gentle and loving kiss she'd ever had. Her heart fluttered and did somersaults as she whimpered softly and sighed, running her fingers up and down his spine in gratitude for this gesture he was offering her. This gesture of trust, love, and solidarity; one she couldn't and wouldn't refuse if she had a million lifetimes to do it.

He pulled away after a long minute, both of them gasping for breath. He smiled at her and stood slowly, offering his thin hand to her to help her follow his example. She beamed a grin at him and took his hand, standing a little too quickly, and almost bumping into him, but he opened his arms and let her fall into his embrace. They held each other as he purred, happiness emanating from both of them so thickly it could be felt.

"I wish I could do that." she remarked with a little laugh into his shoulder.

"To what are you referring?" he asked, his voice light and almost wistful.

"What you're doing. That... Purring sound." she pulled back enough to see his face as she spoke, and was rewarded by a look of surprise on his face.

"You can hear that? Wasn't aware humans could hear that range." excitement replaced the surprise on his face, and she grinned at his exuberance.

"Well, this human can. No telling if it's thanks to Cerberus' 'augments' or not, but I can hear it just fine. And I love it. It's very comforting." she leaned into his shoulder and let the vibrations from his purring massage her cheek, moaning with a soft sigh.

They both jumped a little as Joker's voice interrupted their comforting embrace. "Commander, we're docking at the Citadel in five minutes." she stifled a laugh into his shoulder at them both jumping, then raised her head to reply, "Thanks Joker." she shook her head as they smiled at each other and separated.

She gestured to his clean uniform resting on the back of her chair. "I had it cleaned and pressed for you, I figured you'd want to look nice for our date." he nodded and picked his garments up, quickly slipping into and fastening them before attaching his communication collar. She grinned at him once he was fully dressed, looking once more like the scientist salarian that had charmed her with his shyness and wit.

He looked at her and his face was completely serious as he spoke. "Speaking of the date, would you like an earlier version of it? Perhaps... Breakfast and early morning stroll through Citadel Central Park?" she smiled and nodded. "I would like that. Give me some time to get ready, and I'll meet you at the dock. Say, an hour?" he nodded and planted a kiss on her cheek before taking his leave, walking in his usual hurried manner up the steps and out of her cabin, pausing at the door to look back and give her a smile that filled his eyes with a twinkle.

* * *

**Date is next, and you know what comes after that!**

**I know, I'm being a monstrous tease.**

**You still love me.**

**:D**

**FEEDBACK IS KING!**

**~love~**


	5. Chapter 5: Complications

**Floggers, Foreplay, and Medi-gel**

**Chapter 5:**

* * *

**A/N: So. Three months. Yeah. I'm a terrible person. I frankly couldn't come up with the date. Plus I kinda worked out my need for Mordin porn with "The Commander's Scientist". But now TheRedCelt has struck a deal with me to write her Wrex/Femshep story if I'll continue this. And I love me some good Wrexard. Soooo I must return! Hopefully I can still churn out the Mordinspeak well enough. :) My style's changed since the last chapter, so I hope it still flows well enough. :D Let me know please! :D**

She watched him exit her cabin and sighed as a knot began to form in her gut. It wasn't the typical knot she got in the middle of battle; instead, it was a knot that seemed to be bothered endlessly by tiny, annoying little butterflies that just wouldn't go away. She swallowed and shook her head, stripping and tossing her dirty uniform down the laundry chute as she headed towards the shower.

Mordin stilled as he heard the door to Shepard's cabin close behind him. He didn't know what to think about this situation. It had all come on so suddenly, no warning at all; and he was left standing in the eye of the storm, completely baffled and flustered by his own emotions. It had barely been a few weeks since he'd first met Shepard, and already they were in love. It seemed impossible, scandalous even. What would his family's Dalatrass think of him if she could see him now? All his past accomplishments would be for naught in the face of actually falling for a member of another species. It wasn't that salarians were particularly xenophobic, but to actually take someone outside of their own species as a mate? It was improper, indecent... something a deviant would do; not a respected scientist who'd spent his life making a name for his family.

He turned and gazed at the green door interface panel as dread settled and twisted in his stomach. How could he possibly explain this to his family, if it came to that? And it would now, seeing as they both felt the same way about each other. He'd thought it was impossible for salarians to develop feelings like this. But this woman - this human, of all things - proved him wrong every time he saw her. One part of his mind wondered how long the feelings would last for either of them, while another considered the implications of this whirlwind romance in the face of the collector threat. Perhaps it wouldn't matter in a few months; there was no guarantee that any of the crew of the Normandy would survive the Omega 4 relay, after all.

But what if they did survive? What would it mean for them if the truth got out and their relationship stayed true? Would he be disgraced amongst his people? Would she? If they defeated the collectors, they would all be heroes, but would that overshadow their scandal, or simply push it to the forefront, shown as an example to others of how celebrity had clouded their judgment?

He jumped subtly as the sound of water rushing through the exposed pipes at the end of the short hall hit his ear canals, and realized that he should probably go prepare for their date. He loved her, consequences be damned; and he wasn't about to let the prejudice of others keep him from where his heart led him. He never had before, and it'd always worked out in the end. He quietly prayed that his luck would hold true, for both their sakes.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Forty minutes later, Mordin found himself pacing near the airlock, waiting for Shepard. Most of the crew had already disembarked, save Miranda, who was in a meeting with the Illusive Man, a few of the engineers who'd decided to hold a Skillian 5 match in the cargo hold, and Joker; who was quietly sitting in his chair, occasionally stealing questioning glances over his shoulder at the salarian's odd behaviour. After five minutes, Joker couldn't hold back his curiosity, and turned his chair around.

"Soooo Mordin... why are you wearing a hole in the deck plating? And why here? Don't you have some kind of samples to run scans on in the lab or something?" His curiosity couldn't completely hide the mild annoyance in his voice, so he smiled awkwardly to try to lessen the edge of his question.

Mordin stopped mid-pace, and blinked at the pilot. What a silly question, of course he had samples being scanned and analyzed in the lab. That was a constant occurrence. The samples had never demanded that he be present to watch them being scanned. He huffed and waved his hand at the human as if batting an annoying insect away. "Am waiting for Shepard. Samples in lab being scanned as we speak. No need to worry about them... or integrity of deck plating." He continued his pacing as if he'd never been interrupted.

Joker raised an incredulous eyebrow at the odd salarian. "I wasn't actually worried, Mordin. And you're waiting on the commander? Is she late or something?"

Mordin sighed and stopped once more, turning to face Joker. Humans were almost as nosy as salarians, a fact he would never get used to. "No, am early. And if you weren't concerned, why ask? Very counter-productive."

Joker snorted. This salarian was something else. "Just making conversation, Professor. You got a mission for the commander or something? Why wait?"

Mordin laid his thumb and forefinger on the inner corners of his eyelids, rubbing lightly to ease tension. He was wrong again. Humans were _more_ nosy than salarians. His own kind would've taken the cues from his body language to stop questioning him by now. He didn't want to lie to anyone, but he wasn't sure how Shepard wanted to handle their relationship with the rest of the crew. He decided a cop-out would be preferable. "Would prefer you ask her when she arrives. She requested the meeting." It wasn't a lie, at least.

Joker raised his eyebrows impossibly further, then let them fall with a shrug. "Alright, if you insist."

Mordin barely bit back his sigh of relief when the pilot turned his chair back around, busying himself with the console in front of him. Mordin resumed his pacing, his arms crossed in front of him, the fingers of his right hand worrying his lip lightly as the anxiety rolled off of him in waves. He made a mental note to never again be early when waiting on Shepard.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Shepard looked in the mirror and huffed in annoyance. The one time she had a date in years - thanks to her death – and her hair wouldn't cooperate. Any other day, it was perfect. A glance at the time on her omni-tool told her that she had twenty minutes to spare. She huffed again, muttered "fuck it," and leaned over, turning the water in her sink on and dousing her hair, hoping a fresh start would make the difference. She slung her wet hair back and began drying it methodically, the same as she always did, and finally, a semblance of her normal style began to appear. It wasn't perfect, but it was a damn sight better than the crow's nest it had been.

She applied some light makeup, blending what was left of the still-healing scars from her resurrection in with her normal skin with some success, dabbed some balm on her lips, and nodded in satisfaction. She straightened and walked out of her bathroom towards her closet, picking out the same outfit she'd worn to Mordin's lab when they'd first kissed. As she dressed, she remembered that he'd seemed incapable of taking his eyes off of her shoulders when he first saw it, so she pushed the arms of the sweater down a tad further, letting a bit more of her skin show than she had that day, and smirked at her image in the full-length mirror. She had no idea what salarians counted as attractive in their own species, let alone in humans, but to her eyes, she looked ravishing.

She spritzed her perfume on lightly, and took one final account of her appearance before slipping her shoes on and heading to the elevator. She prodded the holo-button for the CIC, and flicked her wrist to activate her omni-tool chip. If the elevator didn't take longer than usual, she would arrive at the airlock right on time to meet Mordin. She hoped for a moment that he wouldn't be late, waiting for him with Joker sitting there as he always did for a few hours after docking would be awkward, to say the least.

The elevator was making good time today, and as the door swished open, she closed her omni-tool and started making a beeline for the airlock. As she rounded the galaxy map, she smirked at the sight of Mordin pacing just outside the airlock. He was facing away from her, and she could tell from his posture that he'd been waiting for a while. As she saw the curiously disconcerted look Joker was giving him, her concern for the length of time he'd been waiting grew.

The knot in her gut tightened as a thought occurred to her. How did she want to handle her and Mordin's relationship in regards to the rest of the crew? How did he want to handle it? She wasn't sure of the answer to either question, though she doubted their relationship had even become scuttlebutt yet, as they'd managed to keep it under pretty tight wraps so far, without even really trying. She knew that wouldn't last though, and they'd have to figure it out before it became an issue. Their relationship had come on so quickly that she'd not even had time to consider that aspect of it.

She hadn't realized that she'd stopped in the middle of the CIC until she heard Mordin cough softly. She looked up and met his curious, nervous gaze, blushing and smiling lightly, then walked over to him. She grinned almost shyly, and spoke quietly, "Hi, Mordin. Ready to go?"

He looked as if he were about to respond, when Joker chose that moment to turn his chair around and interrupt, in his usual fashion. "Hey commander. Any plans for shore leave?" His gaze flitted to Mordin for just a second before refocusing on Shepard.

She followed his line of sight and flushed slightly. "Well, I asked Mordin if he'd like to have real food for breakfast, then I think we'll take in the sights for a while. After that, I don't know. Might go see a show, it's been a while since I saw anything that wasn't in vid form." She smiled evenly at her pilot, her eyes daring him to make something of her statement, or her company.

He took the bait like a fish takes to water, his face lighting up in a sly grin. "Why, commander, that sounds suspiciously like a date. I didn't know your tastes ran along scientific lines." She could see the barely suppressed laughter in his eyes, and she rolled her own, smiling.

"What if it is, and what if they do, Joker? Don't you have an argument with EDI to get to?" She smirked, knowing he couldn't resist arguing with their resident AI.

He rolled his eyes and sent a death glare towards EDI's station in the cockpit. "Oh, don't get her started. She'll never shut up."

Shepard laughed and twined her hand around Mordin's elbow, which he courteously bent for her. "Have fun, Joker. And make sure you get off the ship for a while, I don't want to catch you staying here more than a couple hours. We've got three days of shore leave, and I want everyone using it. Including you." She pointed at him for emphasis.

Joker rolled his eyes again and scoffed. "Okay mom. Sheesh, go have your date, the rest of us have things to do." He shook his head and turned his chair around.

Shepard grinned and palmed the airlock door, Mordin in tow, and walked into the bright light of the docking bay. She looked up at Mordin and smiled. "So, do you have a place in mind for breakfast?" She looked around nervously and dropped her hand from his elbow, lowering her voice as she spoke again. "Also, how do you want to handle... this..." she motioned between them discreetly, "in public? Pretty sure we already answered that as far as the crew is concerned; everyone on the ship will know in an hour thanks to Joker, but I'd like to follow your lead on the general public part, since I don't know as much about your culture as I'd like." She shifted her weight nervously from one foot to another as she looked at him.

He blinked once, his rapid-fire mind coursing with options which he considered one by one and either dismissed or accepted. He nodded as he came to an acceptable conclusion. "For breakfast, there are a few options, will let you decide upon arrival." He paused, turning to look her squarely in the eyes. "To the issue of publicity... if you are comfortable with them knowing, I am as well. Is... an unusual pairing, will create controversy amongst my species. Problematic, but am capable of handling if need be." He smiled reassuringly down at her, then turned to the side, offering his elbow to her once more.

Concern clouded her eyes, but she smiled at his gesture, and accepted his offer, lightly gripping the crook of his elbow. He smiled lovingly at her acceptance, and headed to the elevator, intent upon taking it to the presidium commons. They stepped into the thankfully empty lift, and he pushed the needed holo-button, then settled in to wait next to Shepard. She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder as the lift started off towards their destination. He smiled and turned his head to plant a kiss on her hair, closing his eyes as he lingered there, inhaling the sweet floral scent he remembered from several days ago in the lab, where things had gotten a bit farther than he'd intended... he stopped himself there, knowing if he let his mind drift any farther in that train of thought, they wouldn't make it to breakfast, let alone a walk in the park.

He straightened again, glancing down at her and taking in the view of her smooth shoulders in the same outfit she'd worn then, though he noticed that more skin was exposed than had been that day. He blushed lightly at the thought of her not only noticing, but remembering the attention he'd paid to that outfit. She was more observant than he'd given her credit for. He smirked and gestured towards her with his left hand as he spoke. "Don't know if you realize, but in salarian culture, a female wearing a similar outfit to yours was once considered a signal of availability. At least, traditionally; before limitations and breeding contracts came into play. Is rare to see it now."

Shepard lifted her head and looked at him, surprise spreading across her face. "So is that why you reacted the way you did in the lab the other day? I knew you liked this outfit, but I had no idea of the reasons behind it." She smiled up at him, curiosity replacing the surprise on her features.

He nodded, returning her smile. "Yes, females showing skin of any kind other than face or hands is traditional means of searching for a partner. Is similar for most species, though elcor and hanar completely opposite; hanar always naked, and elcor only don clothing or other ornaments to attract mates on their homeworld."

She giggled and shook her head in wonder as he relayed this thoroughly serious information, and she leaned up to plant a kiss on his cheek. "Mordin, how is it you always know how to make me laugh, even when you're not trying to?"

He smiled through his surprise at her words, her light mood as infectious as the collector plague he'd cured. "I am... unsure. But, am glad to be of service, Spyke." He beamed down at her, just as she beamed up at him.

Just then, the elevator promptly opened up to announce their arrival at their destination. A turian stood there, waiting for the elevator to become available, and upon seeing the odd couple, so obviously radiating attachment, he blinked in surprise. He watched them, gaping, as they departed the lift and walked past him, and he nearly missed stepping onto the elevator before the doors closed as he continued to stare until the doors cut off his view.

Mordin gestured to several different restaurants that all served both salarian and human food, indicating that she choose one. Shepard ignored the restaurants, instead turning to Mordin and giving him a pointed look. "Which one is your favorite between them?" She asked, keeping eye contact with him to make sure he knew it was his choice.

He blinked, going over the options in his head. "Spyke, are you sure you want me to choo-" He was interrupted by her hand on his mouth.

"Mordin, I asked you which one you liked. Now pick one and let's go. If I ask you to pick something, I mean it." She paused as a grin crept across her lips. "I love you, but you've got to stop questioning my orders." She said teasingly, and lowered her hand from his mouth. She wanted to replace her hand with her lips, but even if they were publicly dating, it probably wasn't a good idea to push their luck. They were already garnering a few disconcerted looks from passer-by's.

He relented, and pointed at the one restaurant with a salarian behind the counter. She smirked and nodded, inclining her head towards a booth near the rear of the building. He led them to it quietly, ushering her into her seat as she released his arm, before he seated himself on the opposite side of the table. A green-skinned salarian waiter promptly appeared beside their table, before they'd even had a chance to warm the seats. He handed them both menus, and took their drink orders, before he left as quickly as he'd appeared.

Shepard leaned in to ask Mordin a question, and he held his hand up, slinging his omni-tool on as he began some program or another. He nodded to himself several times, keying in several commands before he looked back up at Shepard, and nodded at her. "Sorry, wanted to check for surveillance devices. Found several, deactivated now. Please continue."

Shepard blinked, a smirk pulling at the corners of her mouth. "Seriously? Why are there bugs in a restaurant, of all places?"

He shrugged. "Most assume restaurants to be neutral, safe places to meet for various illegal or secret arrangements. Is an incorrect assumption, especially in case of salarian-owned establishments."

Shepard shook her head, marveling at the salarian instinct to gather information, and generally spy on everyone, including their own kind. It was a trademark of the species, but it never ceased to amaze her exactly how far they'd go to gain the upper hand in the information game. She'd looked up what she could about modern salarian culture on the extranet, but it had mostly been about their government and their public face; she hadn't been able to find much information on their more intimate social structures, other than some articles on breeding contract negotiations.

She'd decided she wanted a more personal account of his society. She was about to start her line of questioning, when the salarian waiter appeared once again with their drinks. She was becoming a bit disconcerted with this salarian's ability to seemingly appear out of nowhere; she hadn't once actually seen him approach, nor did she see where he'd disappeared to either time that he'd left. She wasn't normally one to be so unaware of her surroundings, and it raised a few hairs at the back of her neck that she'd been so easily foiled four times now.

Mordin interrupted her displeasure with a hand on hers. "Is something wrong, Spyke?" he asked, concern coating his words delicately.

She was loathe to admit to him what was bothering her, but the fact that he'd noticed her displeasure made her push her way through it. "I... I have to ask, is that waiter of ours using a tactical cloak or something? The only time I see him is when he's already at our table. I never see him approaching, nor see where he goes when he leaves. The whole point of picking this booth was so I could see the whole place, and I'm somehow missing our waiter." She smirked through her frustration at the ridiculousness of the situation, casting her eyes about the room as she looked for the waiter in vain. Her smirk gave way to a slight frown of concern when her eyes fell back on Mordin, who was sitting absolutely still, looking at her in alarm.

He leaned in and she barely caught what he whispered, "_Thought I was being paranoid. If he is using a cloak, is using it to spy on customers in illegal manner. Surveillance bugs mostly legal for salarians, tactical cloaks to subvert customers smart enough to deactivate them...are not. Watch carefully._" He flipped his omni-tool on, and began rapidly flickering through the keys, inputting lines of code faster than she could follow what he was doing. He glanced up to see her watching him, caught her gaze, and subtly nodded his head towards the room around them, before returning his gaze to the program he was creating.

She diverted her eyes to casually look around the restaurant, taking a few sips from her drink to appear even more at ease. She knew how to be stealthy. She heard a soft tone emitting from Mordin's omni-tool, and suddenly she saw a flicker of their waiter standing not five feet away in the periphery of her vision. She smirked slightly, and looked at Mordin, nodding subtly and glancing in the direction of the flicker she'd seen. Mordin followed the line of her quick glance, input a few more lines of code in the program on his omni-tool, then quickly aimed it at the supposed location of the waiter, and triggered the program to execute.

The waiter's cloak fell instantly, and he stood there with a look of complete shock on his face, before shame and fear overcame it, and he began wringing his spindly hands together and biting his lip, his eyes dashing around in search of an escape route, before realizing there was none. He looked over at Mordin with a grimace, his eyes narrowed as if he feared he was about to be beaten... or worse.

Mordin sighed, and crooked a finger at the waiter, beckoning him closer to the table. The waiter complied, slowly, his eyes dashing furtively between the two figures in the booth, waiting for one of them to pull a weapon and just shoot him right there.

As he reached the edge of the table, Mordin spoke. "Do you realize who you're failing to illegally spy on?"

The waiter shook his head quickly, his voice wavering as he answered. "N-no. My boss makes me spy on everyone. You're the first ones to discover me." His hands began to tremble as he continued to wring them together.

Mordin's eyes shifted to Shepard. "Is telling the truth." At her nod, he looked back to the waiter. "Tell your boss we would like a word... in private." He glared at the waiter to make sure he got his point across.

The waiter nodded emphatically and didn't bother reactivating his cloak as he tottered off to the kitchen, disappearing behind the doors that closed after his passing. Soon after, a flustered brown-skinned salarian emerged through the same doors, making a beeline for their table. He bowed slightly as he arrived, his eyes darting between the table's occupants, and resting on Shepard as they widened slightly. They flickered back to Mordin as he spoke, his abnormally high-pitched voice making an unpleasant shiver run up Shepard's spine. "I was told you wished to speak to me, urgently. I hope there isn't a problem with the service...?" He trailed off, waiting for one of them to fill in the blanks.

Mordin spoke up before she could, and Shepard leaned back and watched, as the situation unfolded in front of her. Well, she'd wanted to know about salarian society. She was getting a first-hand demonstration. She would've smirked in satisfaction if the circumstances weren't so serious.

"Yes, there is. We do not blame the server, but _you_ should pick targets for spying on more carefully. The council will not look kindly on one of their Spectres" Mordin looked at Shepard, then back to the restaurant owner, "being spied on by someone without security clearance." He narrowed his eyes at the owner accusingly, as the owner's eyes widened even further at apparently having his suspicions confirmed. His eyes flitted to Shepard's, and he began to mimic the waiter's earlier hand-wringing. Mordin spoke once more, before falling silent, "Shepard will decide your fate."

Shepard looked the salarian owner over once, then settled her eyes on his as she leaned forward in her seat. "I'm going to make some things very clear here. Not only are you breaking the law, but you're playing a very dangerous game. If your server had been discovered by anyone but us, he would probably be dead, and you'd be completely exposed. Your business would be shut down, and you'd be rotting in a prison somewhere. The fact that you had him spying on a Spectre is outrageous, do you know what could have happened if I'd discussed classified information, and he'd reported it back to you? The political implications alone are staggering, let alone the lives it could cost, the wars it could start... Are you completely insane, using this tactic? I can understand using surveillance bugs, but a cloaked waiter to force the issue? Do you have any idea how damaging that could've been if my friend here hadn't been clever enough to break his cloak?"

She shook her head in disgust. "You're less than scum to use an employee in this manner. I should just kill you right here. It would be better than you deserve. Instead, I'm going to hand you over to C-Sec, and send a report to the council." She flicked her omni-tool on, and began pinging the needed contacts.

The owner reached behind his back and pulled a pistol out, aiming it at Shepard. "To hell with that! I'm not going down like some common criminal! I'm-"

He was interrupted by being frozen into a solid block of salarian popsicle by Mordin's omni-tool. Mordin nodded in satisfaction. "Thought he might try something. Had that attack prepped the moment he came from kitchen." He looked over at Shepard, who was grinning broadly at him. "Standard STG procedure: always be prepared. Failing that, improvise." He smirked at her as she chuckled lightly.

Moments later, C-Sec arrived in the form of two turians stepping out of a patrol skycar, bearing assault rifles. The surprise on their faces as they saw the frozen salarian almost made Shepard laugh. Mordin piped up as he saw their reactions, "Quickest way to subdue him. Recommend disarming him before he thaws completely." He pointed at the pistol the owner was still holding in his still semi-frozen hand.

One of the turians shook his head quickly and approached the iceberg salarian, carefully prying his somewhat thawed fingers off of the gun, and patting him down as well as he could for any other weapons. He straightened and brought up his omni-tool, starting up a program and scanning the salarian. He nodded in satisfaction and looked at Mordin. "He's clean." He turned his attention to Shepard before he spoke again, "Any charges besides attempted murder?"

She nodded, "Espionage, spying on a council Spectre, denying his employee's rights to a safe working environment, using illegal means to gain information, with said employees being forced to use a tactical cloak to get close enough to spy on an untold number of customers for the purpose of bypassing any surveillance jammers used by said customers. In other words, he needs to be locked up for the rest of his natural life, for being a terrorist threat to the safety of the entire galaxy. If I'd discussed any classified information here, and his employee had reported it to him, the consequences could easily have been dire."

The turian nodded, waving his partner forward and turning towards him. "Arrest and book him as soon as he uh... thaws. Attempted murder, treason, espionage, and terrorism. I'll fill in the details on the report once I take their statements." He turned back to Shepard. "Would you like to press charges against the employee you mentioned?"

Shepard shook her head. "No, he didn't seem to be doing it of his own volition. Keep an eye on him though, if he does anything else wrong, he can share a cell with his old boss."

The turian nodded and looked back to see that his partner had just managed to wrench the salarian's newly thawed arms around and put cuffs on his wrists. The partner looked at him and nodded, then proceeded to drag the salarian to the waiting patrol skycar.

The remaining turian took Mordin's statement, then stalked off to talk to the restaurant employees.

Shepard sighed and looked over at Mordin a bit sheepishly. "Well, I guess this means we've got to find a new restaurant for breakfast. Maybe just some take-out, then go eat in the park? At least the surveillance bugs would be minimal." She grinned and chuckled lightly as he raised an eyebrow and smiled.

Mordin hummed a moment, deliberating. "Do know of a nice take-out stand for salarian food, unsure where to go for human food." He looked at her and shrugged.

She smiled. "It's alright, I know a few places. Is your place on the presidium, or in one of the wards?"

His face showed mild disdain as he answered, "Presidium. Would not recommend eating anything from the wards."

She blinked and raised an eyebrow. "Really? No good salarian places down there eh? There's a bunch of good human places. Granted, I'm not exactly a picky eater, but still. I know good food when I see it." She quirked an eyebrow at him as a thought occurred to her. "Wait, you're levo-amino based, right?" at his nod, she continued, "Well, wouldn't it stand to reason that we could eat the same foods? Within our taste ranges, at least. Or am I completely off the mark there?"

Mordin shook his head. "No, you are correct, and in fact, are many salarians who enjoy human food. Have had opportunities to try human food before, though haven't had much luck. Would be willing to try again, however, may need assistance in deciding. If willing to be patient, will try to find something palatable." He gave her a questioning smile, which she returned with a bright grin.

"There you go, presenting me with a challenge again, Mordin. You know I can't resist a challenge." She chuckled and got up from the booth, rounding to his side of the table and planting a kiss on his broken horn. "Let's go then. Shall we, Professor?" Her smile shone through her eyes as she stood and moved aside, holding her hand out towards the open presidium.

Mordin smiled lightly and scooted out of the booth, standing next to her and offering his arm once more. "We shall." He grinned as she took his arm, and he led them out of the restaurant. As they exited the now doomed establishment, he paused, turning his gaze to her with an unsure turn to his features. "Where would you recommend we go?"

She dropped his arm for a moment to flick her omni-tool on, and brought up a map of the presidium. "Well, we could go here," she pointed at a location close to the main market, "there's a few good places there to pick up some quick food... or, we could go here," she pointed to a spot closer to the entrance to the wards, "there's one really good place there called Nemo's, though they're a little slower, since they cook everything fresh and from scratch. They've got a pretty good variety of foods from all over earth, so there's probably something you could find that you'd like on their menu." She paused a moment, and looked up at him. "Come to think of it, I seem to remember seeing a salarian on the cook staff there that last time I was there. Maybe he could help you pick something." She smiled excitedly at him, and he returned the gesture, offering his arm to her once more.

He nodded as she deactivated her omni-tool and took his arm, "That sounds... quite agreeable." His smile grew into an eye-crinkling grin, and they moved off together in the direction of Nemo's, chatting back and forth, earning several odd glares and shocked stares from aliens and humans alike as they went, which they happily ignored.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The salarian cook at Nemo's ended up being incredibly helpful, and quickly found something on the menu that he and Mordin both agreed he might enjoy. It ended up being a salad with a side of something akin to a mild gumbo. The cook had promised to add salarian spices to the gumbo, as human spices were a tad too strong for the salarian pallet. Shepard ordered two pancakes with a side of bacon, and they settled down to wait in one of the benches near the stand.

Shepard smirked and glanced up at Mordin beside her. "So, enjoying our date so far?" She chuckled as he looked at her as if he wasn't entirely sure, then let a small laugh of his own out.

"Yes, Spyke. Is a new experience for me, but any time spent with you? Worth the risk." His smile warmed as he looked down at her.

She bit her lip as she smiled, then looked down at his hand, which was resting on his thigh. She snaked her arm under his and entwined their fingers, clasping his hand firmly but gently in hers, marveling at the unique fit of their fingers. She returned her gaze to his, and smiled as she saw him look at their intermingled hands, almost seeming to study the phenomenon. He tightened the lax grip he'd had experimentally, and raised an eyebrow as she squeezed lightly in reaction. She rubbed his gloved thumb with her bare one lightly, and rested her head on his shoulder. He squeezed her hand a bit tighter, and sighed happily. They sat in comfortable silence for several moments, enjoying each others' company and touch. They almost missed it when the bell announcing their food's prepared state rang.

Shepard squeezed his hand lightly, then released it as she straightened and stood up, walking over to the stand as Mordin followed her. She slung her omni-tool on, and paid for their meal, despite Mordin's objections, stating with a sly smile as they walked away with their food in hand that it wasn't her paying, it was the Illusive Man. That seemed to mollify him, and they headed towards the central park, commenting on different monuments and artworks along the way.

They found a small clearing with a few trees and a large patch of well-maintained grass, and decided it was a nice spot to settle down to their breakfast. Shepard sat, leaned up against a tree, and began to rummage through her take-out bag, pulling out utensils and setting her meal staging area. Mordin set down next to her, gingerly digging through his own bag, sniffing at the gumbo container curiously as he fished it out. Shepard chuckled at his hesitation, shaking her head as she poured syrup over her pancakes.

Mordin blinked at her. "What?" His curiosity demanded.

She grinned and jerked her chin at the gumbo container in his hands. "You act like it's going to eat you. I'm pretty sure the idea is for you to eat it, not the other way around."

Mordin narrowed his eyes at her barely veiled challenge, and cracked open the lid of the container, picked up his spoon, and delved into the depths of the bowl with it, bringing it to his lips and glaring at her as he carefully dipped the spoon's contents into his mouth. His eyes flickered to something in the distance as he rolled the gumbo around in his mouth, testing the flavor against his pallet. He blinked, raised an eyebrow, and swallowed. His gaze drifted upwards as he seemed to consider how the flavor affected him for a moment, then returned his eyes to settle in hers, which were watching him with bemused curiosity. "Meaty, flavorful, and spicy. Quite good." He said simply, then commenced devouring the gumbo quite happily.

Shepard laughed. "Only you could make the taste-testing of food sound like a scientific experiment. Yet another reason to love you, Professor Mordin Solus." She grinned, then started digging into her pancakes.

Mordin's eyes flicked to her, observing her with familiar interest as a thought occurred to him. "Spyke?" He prodded.

She looked up and swallowed her mouthful of sticky pancake. "Yes, Mordin?" She looked at him, her unsure smile warming his heart.

He took a breath and dove in. "What is your real name? Where did nickname 'Spyke' originate?"

Her eyebrows flew up and her eyes blinked rapidly a few times. Her eyes turned down to her plate of food, her features relaxing minutely, and she sighed. "That's a really long story, Mordin."

A/N: Cliffhanger. Yep, I totally just did that. And I'm pretty sure this is the longest chapter I've ever written, so ENJOY IT PEOPLE! XD

Seriously, I'm sorry it took so damn long to update this. I really hope my Mordinspeak was up to the task, I tried to emulate him, but it's been so long... It wasn't easy. Hope I did the story justice.

Until next time...

PEACE!


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